Embassy Suites Birmingham

... over it. Now the fruit bin is what holds my wonder, if it exists that morning. I long for a green apple or appropriately ripe banana. Sadly, they are usually soft red mealy apples or maybe brown bananas... again, if they actually have fruit that morning.<br><br>I am over my daily ration of bread line breakfast. I need more. I love breakfast too much.<br><br>Oh, how I long for eggs. Real scrambled eggs. And bacon. And homefries... <br>

We had a one night stop over in Moody. We passed Talladega raceway on the way there but as it was a longer drive we didn't stop off along the way. We also got held up in our first traffic jam. A truck had gone off the interstate and crashed. Delayed us by about 40 minutes. The Super 8 wasn't the worst or the best motel but we both slept well after dinner at Cracker Barrell.

As most of you know I have been sick since my last blog and yesterday was pretty much a write off. I arrived in Birmingham at 11.45am after taking a 4 hour ride on a Amtrak train. The train ride was quite comfortable. I was able to get two seats to myself and there is a lot more leg room on a train than an airplane. The taxi driver had never heard of the hotel I was staying at and couldn't find it on his GPS. Luckily I had the additionally information that it was off a certain ...

A few days ago we realized that the day we leave, marked in our brains as Memorial Day, comes a week earlier than we'd been thinking. Oops. At least we saw the light soon enough so we won't miss the flight. (Memorial Day this early in May feels very odd.) This trip is no big deal but will serve well as a test travel blog. Something to play with between meetings and meals.

A little over a week and we'll be on the road! Our Volkswagen Eurovan Camper is just about ready; it's getting a new "kitchen" water pump tomorrow and then we'll actually start loading it up. We'll be traveling pretty light: the Porta-Potty, one roller bag each, one sleeping bag and Therma-Rest each, one pillow each, a new Coleman grill/stove so we don't have to ...

... WAS THE 4TH OF JULY HOLIDAY AND THE HOTEL WAS VIRTUALLY EMPTY (NOT THAT I MINDED, ALMOST, JUST THE TWO OF US). THE GROUNDS WERE VERY WELL KEPT. THE ROOM VERY CLEAN. ANYWAY WE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME. WE WALKED THE GROUNDS. THIS HOTEL WAS ON A HILL SO IT WAS HIGH UP. AT THE END OF OUR CORRIDOR WAS A LARGE PICTURE WINDOW. WE SAW SOME GOOD FIREWORKS FROM THERE. WE PLAYED GIN RUMMY ...

Here we are in Alabama, the birthplace of Marty. She found a map at the visitors center that actually shows the town where she was born. Yesterday was good. After the trip down the Natches we had a drive on I-20 with a lot of trucks. Why don't they put all that freight on the train? We are planning a stop on Huntsville to visit Martys cousin and to see the old family home; then on to Chattanooga.

... on the town square to totally disinterested townsfolk. We then rode to Birmingham which is a beautiful city. The local chapter of the Lifesouth treated us to a picnic at a park for dinner- we had burgers and all the fixings. I am so overwhelmed by the LifeSouth community that is treating us all like stars. We are all getting pretty tired by the meet and greets after a long day of cycling. hopefully, we a making a difference.

... risking our lives for just a hot minute would be a brilliant idea. We went for a stroll down some railroad tracks... and then took a little jog through some snake infested high grass up the hill to the side of the highway which (besides us) is only driven by semi-trucks OR semi-trucks carrying houses on their backs... Not okay when you're inches away on the side ...

... a 54-hole facility; Ridge Course has heavy tree cover and 150-foot elevation changes, the Valley Course is dotted with lakes. City Stages, a Birmingham Cultural & Heritage Festival, is a 3-day music festival centered in downtown's Linn Park, covers 12 city blocks, held in mid-June. Birmingham Oktoberfest is late September and the Alabama State Fair is mid-October. Enjoy outdoor dining and strolling at Five Points South and ...